The Royce Fellowship, founded through the vision and support of Charles Royce ‘61, P’91, P’94, P’08, has supported nearly 700 Brown students since its inception. Each year, the program selects a group of undergraduates to carry out original research projects that cross disciplines and often challenge conventional boundaries of inquiry.

At the April induction ceremony, Mary Jo Callan, Vice President for Community Engagement and Stark Family

 Executive Director of the Swearer Center, addressed an audience that included faculty mentors, university leaders and families of the Fellows. “We are living in a time of profound complexity and urgent questions,” she said. “In this moment, research is not optional. It is essential.”

The Fellows will spend the summer embarking on projects spanning labs, archives, fieldwork and community-based engagement. But as Callan emphasized, the program is about more than data or deliverables. “The discomfort is where the learning—and the leadership—lives,” she said.

Each year, the Society of Royce Fellows welcomes a new cohort of 20 to 25 students, joining a vibrant community of alumni, faculty and student scholars engaged in a wide range of research fields. The projects this year's themes include gender, precarity and power; housing justice; climate resilience; community health and wellness; education justice; and art, identity and cultural memory. Together, they reflect the diverse and urgent issues that student fellows are exploring in collaboration with communities.

Rashid Zia, Dean of the College and Professor of Engineering and Physics, has always held a strong commitment to inquiry and engagement. He shared remarks, spotlighting the current and future work of the Fellows, enthusiastically describing upcoming projects that build on the academic work and personal passions the students were already engaged in. Alongside several other students, Dean Zia highlighted Daniel Solomon ‘26, a returning student-researcher whose Royce Fellowship project builds directly on a community installation he co-led last year. 

Solomon previously collaborated with Royce Fellow Rishika Kartik ‘25 and Brown-RISD dual-degree student Zoe Goldemberg on Blind Urban Subject, a public art installation and research initiative that simulates the experiences of blind pedestrians navigating urban environments. Located at the corner of Angell and Thayer streets, the project combined interactive visual simulations, accessible design and educational outreach. Read the full story.

As a new Royce Fellow, Solomon will bring that vision to New York City, where he plans to install a second iteration of the exhibit in Manhattan. Working with city agencies, blind and visually impaired residents and urban planners, Solomon will explore how public art and inclusive design can shape broader perceptions—and policies—around disability and access in urban life.

The ceremony closed with a call to action: to carry the work forward with curiosity, courage and care.

View the full list of 2025 Royce Inductees and their project titles below.